30.05.12
Electronic care record for Northern Ireland
Northern Irelandis deployed a national Electronic Care Record (ECR), health minister Edwin Poots has announced. The contract, awarded to Orion Health, follows a successful pilot of the system.
The ECR will enable communication and sharing of patient data from multiple, existing information systems to reduce the length of clinic times, improve the quality and safety of patient services and create cost and efficiency savings in staff time and resources.
The pilot took place in Ulster Hospital Dundonald, theBelfastCityHospitaland two general practices in 2009 and 2010. The seven-year contract is worth £9m and will be deployed in 18 acute hospitals and all GP practices inNorthern Ireland.
The health minister Edwin Poots said: “The implementation of the Electronic Care Record will contribute to the delivery of the key proposals within ‘Transforming Your Care’. It is about improving the quality, sustainability and safety of patient and client care.
“I am confident that the Electronic Care Record system will assist in developing a sustainable health care system that delivers now and will continue to deliver in the future for the good of everyone in Northern Ireland.”
Dr Carolyn Harper, the HSCNI project sponsor, said: “The Electronic Care Record will improve the quality and safety of patient care as the system makes all of the relevant existing information available to doctors, nurses and other staff at the point of care.
“The Electronic Care Record received a very positive reaction from frontline staff as it delivered the patient benefits we had anticipated, and is intuitive to use. We learned valuable lessons from the pilot project and are looking forward to a smooth roll out across the country.”
Roll-out will start in late 2012, and is expected to be completed in early 2013.
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